The Dominion. MONDAY, MARCH 17, 1915. OUR WEAKNESS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2463, 17 May 1915, Page 4

The Dominion. MONDAY, MARCH 17, 1915. OUR WEAKNESS

Mr. Asquith, we are told this morning, has declared that the present is not a war between armies, but a war between nations. No one who has given any thought to the question can fail to recognise the truth that lies behind the Prime Minister's remark. This being the case, the weakness of Britain's position at once* becomes evident. We are not fighting this war as a nation : we are relying almost entirely on our soldiers and our sailors to fight it_ for us. Can anyone question this 1 If so, let him cast his eyes around . among his acquaintances and discover how many of them are actively assisting in the struggle. It is a most difficult thini* to bring home to the india sense of personal responsibility where national interests are concerned. Not that the individual is disloyal, or unpatriotic: it simply is that the appeal put forward so often fails to make any true impression. In New Zealand, for instance, ho reads in his news- i paper that the Prime Minister has announced that the Dominion will stand or fall with the Motherland, and ho heartily endorses this patriotic sentiment. But he fails to realise that 'he personally is a part of the New Zealand referred to; that he personally must be one of those who. are going to assist the Motherland; that he personally must make sacrifices. War as we have known it in the past makes ho direct call on the average citizen. He takes it as a matter, of course that if necessity arises a sufficient number of adventurous spirits will come forward and_ offer their services, and, if otcasion requires, die for their country. He takes pride in the fact that such is the spirit of the nation to which he belongs— but it does not occur to him that it is just as much his duty to share in the struggle to_ the full limit of his capacity as it is the duty of any of the gallanfc men in whose refleeted glory he suns himself when occasion offers. _ It is not that the average citizen is a shirker, it is merely that his personal and individual responsibility in such a matter is not felt by him. He is so accustomed to living the narrow routine of his daily life, trusting to the paid police to preserve law and order and to the Government to manage the affairs of the nation, that 111 a period of national crisis like the T)resent he is slow to grasp the magnitude of the situation./ It takes him time to realise that the hour has come when every man and every woman-L-even he. himself—must P one form or another fichfc or face the alternative of subjection. How many are there in this community who have rendered no other service than lip-service? A great many, we fear. This no doubt is partly due to the fact that they have not been impressed with the gravity of the situation and the urgency of the call to their patriotism. There are men and' women here—more _ men than women—who have not given a penny piece, nor done a hand's turn to assist in any way in connection with the-struggle; and there are still more who have done far less than they should have done. It is not altogether dud to indifference; it is not altogether selfishness that is the cause of this. It is largely a habit of mind that is responsible. There are people, hero who are filled with a furv of indignation and disgust when they read in the newspapers that the _ lives of our gallant soldiers in the jjghting lines in Franco and Belgium are being imperilled by industrial squabbles amongst workers in munition factories over a few pence per day extra Pay- They even tell their friends that they would like to be iu a position to go and do the work themselves—and they mean it. But it never occurs to many of them that there is work here for them to dothat they can assist in the struggle at this endyeither, if young and physically lit, in enlisting with the reinforcements, or if disqualified for this class of scrviee by helping with sumo of tho various funds for the benefit of 011 soldiers and our Allies, or in any way that may present itself. Our weakness lies in the fact that the call to the nation has not yet reached the understanding of a large proportion of its citizens—that wo have not vet fully realised that the struggle 111 which involved throws a responsibility ob every ipdivicluiili &ud that

those who shirk that responsibility are flaying into the hands of our enemies. In Britain there has been an awakening duo in part to the impression made on the public mind by the sinking of the Lusitania and to the atrocious methods adopted by the German military staff. To-day we are told of the messages from the Clyde workmen and employers to Field-Marshal French and to Admiral Jellicoe, promising the fullest possible exertions on their part to rush forward the supply of munitions of war. A week or two ago these same people were threatening. the safety of the nation with their paltry disputations over rates of pay. They are waking up to the gravity of their individual responsibilities. But it has been a slow and costly process, not only with these particular "men, but with a large percentage of the people throughout the whole Empire. There has been a magnificent response, it is true—the whole world has been amazed and thrilled at the patriotic impulse which has moved the Empire to its uttermost parts. But even this great effort so spontaneously exerted cannot win for us success— still further demands must be made upon our reserves of strength. We must call on the average citizen: the men and women who have not yet realised their individual responsibility to come forward each to do • J? 1 ' h j e . r „ sh ®? e - , Our weakness lies in the difficulty of bringing home to tun • fact. that when they read that Britain is engaged in a life and death struggle with Germany it means the British nation, and that they are just as much a part of the British nation as any otner man or woman in it. In otner words, that it- is their national existence that is being fought for, and that unless they are cowards or shirkers thiy must come forward to share in the nght, ana makesuch sacrifices as it lies within their- power to make. Zt t? , olea , rl y brought home to the British people, and our outstanding weakness, will quickly disappear, and there will remain a nation not only united, in sentiment and a resoL I ? rmmation to emerge triumphant from the struggle, but fortified and. strengthened by a spirit of self-sacrifice and a universal eagerness! for service, giving assurance ot ttie best that every man and woman has to offer. It grows increasingly plain that we shall need nil our resources if wo arc to win that, measure of success that the justice of our cause and the future welfare of the nation demand.